Page 34 of From London, With Love

“Harper’s right, honey. Please fuck him, like as soon as possible. We need to live vicariously through you.”

I can’t control the burst of laughter that erupts in response; these two are something else. They aren’t wrong, though; I haven’t been out with even one guy since moving. Work keeps me reasonably busy, and when I’m not working, I’m exploring or hanging out with the girls.

Dating hasn’t been high on my priority list, and I’m completely fine with that. Who needs a boyfriend when you have friends as great as mine? Casual sex, though, could be beneficial. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a particular itch Mr Darcy could scratch.?

Sort of like the way his stubble scratched the inside of my thighs.

Focus, Lara.?

“The both of you are also single; why are we living through me?”

“Last I checked, neither of us had a suited man falling to his knees for us.”

My lips twitch at Harper’s response. Mia brings a hand up to stifle her giggle. It feels like a fever dream when you put it like that, but it’s one I want to experience again and again. The man almost had me eating out the palm of his hand and certainly had me moaning. My cheeks heat at the memory. The only thing that could’ve possibly made it better would be having a name—arealname—to moan.

Chapter 15

Carter

It’s been fourteen days since I tasted Lara, fourteen days since I learnt the sound of her moans. It’s been fourteen days since I was last able to think straight.?

From the moment she sat, I haven’t had a single clear thought. Instead, I’ve mused over all the ways in which I can get myself between her thighs once more and finish what we started.

It’s early, too early, but I’m already sitting in my office and have been for at least half an hour. A restless sleep last night led me to go for a run before dawn to clear my mind. It worked during the run, but the second I walked into the building, all thoughts went to Lara.?

I found myself wondering more and more about previously unimportant details about her, like what she’d be wearing, how her night had been, and if she’d have on her signature scent—the delicate raspberry and rose aroma that invades my nostrils whenever I enter the bookshop, similar to the way Lara herself invades my thoughts. I’m glad Dex isn’t in yet; the arseholewould be giving me an absolute earful if he could see the way I’m pining like a lovesick fool.

Although I’ve seen her since the stockroom excitement, we haven’t touched each other like that since. There have been small touches here and there though, which I’ve been painfully fucking aware of.

I’d said something funny last week, and she’d placed a hand on my bicep while laughing in a way that had heat rising in my chest. Her face lit up so beautifully that it almost took my breath away. It was clear she was unaware of the captivating picture she made.

Lara probably hadn’t thought much of it, but I certainly had. Anyone who may have overheard our exchanges for the remainder of my time in the bookshop would’ve had good reason to think I was trying to become a stand-up comedian.

The week before, we’d both reached for a book at the same time, and her fingertips grazed mine. It sounds awfully cliche, butbloody hell, it affected me far more than a simple touch should.

Keeping my thoughts from straying to that alluring woman is getting harder by the day, especially when sitting alone at my desk. Too many salacious ideas run rampant when I eye the edge of my desk—Lara bent over it, sat on it, spread open on it. I might be the CEO, but I wouldn’t put it past Anna to fire me on the spot if I acted on any of those ideas.

Almost as if she knew I was thinking about her, an email from Anna pops up.?

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: EA Update

Morning boss,

Quick update on the assistant front - I interviewed a few more yesterday, but unfortunately none seemed suitable. Majority of the applicants have been quite young, and a little too immature for the role. A few seemed more interested in knowing if the “pretty CEO” (their words, I assure you) was the executive they’d be assisting.?

I have a few more lined up this week, so hopefully one is the perfect fit.?

Kind Regards,

Anna Taylor

Head of Human Resources | J. L. & Sons

Running a hand through my dishevelled hair, I let out a sigh. I’m aware we haven’t been searching for long, but I lose a little bit of hope with each interview that comes and goes.

---